Elder Mistreatment Intervention: Strategies for Connecting with Diverse and Rural Populations

As the elder population grows, this cohort increasingly is racially and ethnically diverse, including within rural areas. These rural-based diverse groups are isolated from elder mistreatment (EM) intervention teams by language and-or geographic barriers, or both. Education and train-the-trainer programs can teach the specifics of EM, but multidisciplinary teams, which prevent EM through multi-agency collaborations, are located mainly in urban areas, and not in every state. The Texas Elder Abuse and Mistreatment Institute-Forensic Assessment Center Network uses teleconferencing to address EM, an approach that could be replicated throughout the United States.